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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Coffee Party Protest in Chicago Draws 20 People

As the Sun-Times generously puts it, it was a small but vocal group. A shame phone booths are out of fashion or they could have met there. In fact, it was "about 20 people" so this hapless gathering could have been even less.

“Thank you for paying your taxes” is a seldom-heard phrase, but it was the calling card Sunday for a few citizens angry about federal loopholes for corporations.

They had a serious point to make with humor. With some dressing the part, they pretended to be high-class moguls walking Michigan Avenue and thanking people “for paying your fair share of U.S. taxes, so we don’t have to.”

They carried placards expressing the gratitude of ExxonMobil, Boeing, Bank of America and other corporations. All were identified in a report last month by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, that highlighted U.S.-based companies paying little or no income taxes in 2009.

“Most people don’t know how little these corporations pay in taxes,” said Eric Pynnonen, a security and risk manager from Chicago who was part of the small group of about 20 people.

They included members of the Coffee Party, which is positioning itself as a nonpartisan alternative to the Tea Party, and U.S. Uncut. Last week, U.S. Uncut took credit for a hoax press release saying that General Electric was returning to the treasury its $3.2 billion tax refund.

A nonpartisan alternative? Really? The famously nonpartisan Chicago Coffee Party Facebook page curiously has Barack Obama listed as the first person on their Like list.

What's even more pathetic is they actually had this U.S. Uncut group with them. And they can't rustle up more than 20 people?

US Uncut is a grassroots movement taking direct action against corporate tax cheats and unnecessary and unfair public service cuts across the U.S. Washington's proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. That's unacceptable.